Presently, chloride salts and sand or clay are chiefly used to melt ice and snow and provide traction, respectively, on a road, driveway, or the like, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,108,669. Bag assemblies, called traction bags, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,294,405; 4,281,791 and 2,438,563, are also used wherein the traction bag either bursts or itself provides a frictional surface when placed under the tires of a vehicle. Not only on roadways and driveways, but where a vehicle has become immobilized with one or more tires spinning in ice or snow, does increased traction become necessary.
Chloride salts have been demonstrated to be destructive to vegetation and road surfaces, in addition to automobile body parts due to their corrosiveness. Sands have a tendency to not adhere to the road surface and cause hazardous slipping and sliding of vehicles thereover. Further, these traction materials are typically carried in the cargo compartment of the vehicle during the winter in case the vehicle becomes immobilized and also to act as a weight imparting means distributed over the drive axle of the vehicle for road stability. Heretofore, chloride salts and sand have been contained in paper bags which often burst in the vehicle causing their contents to spill in the compartment or, the bag becomes contaminated by moisture, causing the crystals to harden into a solid mass. The bags are not refillable and large bags, though more economical, are difficult to manipulate.